Gardenburger: Gourmet?

It’s not meant to be an oxymoron. The Gardenburger folks sent over samples of two of the new meatless “steaks” in the Gardenburger Gourmet line, and we gave them a try. Gardenburger is my veggie burger of choice (although the burning question of my restaurant critic career was why everyone charged $1 extra to sub a Gardenburger for a hamburger, when meat is far more expensive), so I was looking forward to trying these.

The process: We cooked them in a cast-iron skillet and put them on buns, trying them first bare and then with condiments.

The verdict: The “steak” name is a bit misleading. Hey, stop laughing! Gardenburger products are generally surprisingly good at simulating the textures of different meat products, but on this one I don’t think they were seriously trying. Brown rice is the first ingredient in the Baja (as it is in the standard Gardenburger); jasmine rice is the first ingredient in the Hula. The texture (particularly in the Hula) is more like a pressed casserole, kind of like … well, a veggie burger, or perhaps the risotto cakes you pay big bucks for in some restaurants. There’s nothing wrong with that, but it’s not steak. Both looked attractive for burgers, speckled with vegetables. As for flavor, the Hula was fine for anyone who enjoys that sweetish pineapple-burger flavor, though a touch salty. The Baja went over the line with a burning blast of salt, an overwhelming one that made it impossible to enjoy any of its other flavors. (According to the nutritional label, a single Baja steak contains 680 mg of sodium, 28 percent of the recommended daily maximum.)

Bottom line: We prefer the standard original Gardenburger, which tastes better and is also better for you.